Salmon fishing.

[mick dunn]

Guys can i ask a bit of advice here.
I am slowly learning about this flyfishing lark day by day and am loads better than when i started.
One of my ambitions is to catch a wild salmon.
I know they migrate up the river at Sunderland and on through Durham.
I would love to fish for them-but the licence is over £60. And where can you go. What is the best time?.
My mate reckons you do not need a licence in Scotland. If this is the case its not a long drive over the border.I would obviously pay my way with the owner of the stretch of river.
Cheers Mick.

[mark]

you don't need a rod licence in scotland, but will still pay to fish for em, and the good beats aren't cheap. Never had a migratory licence, just the straight coarse licence, might of 'accidentally' caught one or 2 tho! Can't remember how much but you can get day and week migratory licences, 3 quid a day or something like that

there's cheap migratory fishing to be had in the wear though. the stretch out here is a fiver a day. not so many salmon this far up but plenty sea trout of a good size - 5lb plus fish are reasonably common, there are salmon out here but they tend to make it up here in numbers after the season's closed

there are a couple of free stretches lower down that produce plenty salmon though. under the A1 bridge at chester le street is a known hot spot, but might be part of chester angling clubs bit...

there's another free stretch near bishop auckland, and bishop auckland angling club own quite a bit of the river down that way.

then there's always the tyne. The Bywell Stretch is reputed to be the best salmon beat in england. The Bywell Syndicate do allow some day tickets and are not that expensive. Only cost me £25 for the day last time I fished there.

Late afternoon into the evening and darkness seems to be the best time for sea trout, which is canny as there's usually a good evening rise of brownies as well

[mick dunn]

I know that patch very well in Chester-Le-Street its on my PATCH.
I often pop down there under the bridge in the early hours from my night shift. Lumley castle is only a stones throw away.
Someone told me salmon pass through.

[mark]

A lad I know fishes it regularly and pulls plenty out, many 10lb plus.

not long left on the wear though, closes next wednesday